All posts tagged Ontario Liberal Party

Ontario’s status as the poster child for fiscal woes among Canadian governments got further confirmation late Wednesday when ratings firm Moody’s Investors Service put the province’s Aa2 ratings on a negative outlook, meaning it could be downgraded if Ontario doesn’t achieve its budget goals.

Moody’s had already indicated it was considering such a move, which comes amid widespread concerns about the province’s finances.

“It should be no surprise to anybody who lives and breathes in the capital markets,” said Norman Levine, managing director at Portfolio Management Corp., a Toronto-based investment firm. Read More »

Ontario’s ruling Liberal Party is set to unveil its latest budget later today, and it’s likely to be loaded with new spending plans as the minority government tries to keep the opposition New Democratic Party on its side.

The spending promises will come even as Ontario—Canada’s most populous province–works to pare down its big deficit and balance its books by fiscal 2018 as promised.

Much of the content of the budget, which will delivered by newly appointed finance minister Charles Sousa, has already been disclosed, and it points to a government willing to unveil new spending despite shouldering a deficit for the year just ended of an estimated 9.8 billion Canadian dollars ($9.7 billion). That shortfall, though high, was considerably improved from the C$15.2 billion deficit originally projected during last year’s budget. Read More »

Charles Sousa has had his work cut out for him since becoming Ontario’s finance minister two months ago. The minister has the tough task of putting together a 2013 budget that continues the province’s path to a balanced budget while still ensuring that the Liberals, who are governing with a minority mandate, hang onto power in Canada’s largest province.

People are eyeing every move Mr. Sousa takes to tackle Ontario’s massive debt load. Net debt was projected to hit 257.6 billion Canadian dollars ($251.22 billion) as of the end of March, or close to 40% of the province’s gross domestic product, trailing only neighboring Quebec on that metric. Ontario’s net debt-to-GDP measure is expected to peak in fiscal 2015 at 41.2%–which recently prompted one think tank, the right-leaning Fraser Institute, to compare the province to fiscal basket cases such as California and Greece.

Speaking to Canada Real Time, Mr. Sousa says he’s ready to announce a budget date “soon,” and suggests there’s the possibility of a budget deal with the province’s left-leaning New Democratic Party.

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Canada Real Time provides insight and analysis into what’s making news in Canada, a country punching above its weight on the world stage thanks to its vast resources and strong banking sector. Drawing on the expertise of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, we take a look at developments in fields ranging from business to politics to culture. You can contact the editors at canadaeditors@dowjones.com